One method for the exposure of a photographic light-sensitive material includes a scanner-system image formation method, wherein an original is scanned and a silver halide photographic material is exposed in accordance with the document's image signals. A negative image or a positive image corresponding to the image of the original document is thus formed.
A variety of recording apparatus use the scanner-system image formation method, and glow lamps, xenon lamps, mercury lamps, tungsten lamps and light-emitting diodes, etc. have been used as the recording light source in scanner system recording apparatus. However, all these light sources are disadvantageous in that the source output is weak and have a short operating life. Scanner systems that overcome these drawbacks include scanners which employ Ne-He laser, argon laser, He-Cd laser and similar coherent laser light sources. Although these sources have a high light output, they are disadvantageous in that the equipment is cumbersome and expensive, modulators are required, the use of safe-light is restricted since visible light is employed, and the equipment is not easy to handle.
In contrast, semiconductor lasers are advantageous in that they are compact and inexpensive, modulation is easy, and semiconductor lasers have a longer life than the above-noted lasers. Semiconductor lasers are convenient to work with since they emit light in the infrared region, and consequently, a bright safe light may be employed if a light-sensitive material is employed which is sensitive to light in the infrared region.
Light-sensitive materials that can be advantageously used with semiconductor laser sources have recently become commercially available.
The computerization and reduction of size which started with layout scanners in the printing industry, have made possible large quantities of good quality printing even in an office environment. Namely, the preparatory work for plates can be done on a CRT screen, and an electronic computer photosetting unit is used to effect the output via floppy disks onto printing paper or film. A photographic light-sensitive material that is sensitive to semiconductor laser light (680 nm) is then used.
However, this light-sensitive material is disadvantageous in that large amounts of developing solution are used. Additionally, a great deal of space is needed for a replenisher therefor. Therefore, there has been a demand for a silver halide photographic material which permits reduction of the amount of replenishers, and for a processing method thereof wherein problems such as fogged patches in unexposed portions caused by silver fouling due to silver ion dissolved in the developing solution or physical development of silver dissolved out during fixation and attached on the processed material, etc. are minimized.
JP-A-60-80841, JP-A-62-299838, JP-A-62-299839, JP-A-6l-70550, JP-A-63-115159, JP-A-63-115160 and JP-A-63-115161 (the term "JP-A" as referred to herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent publication") disclose photographic light-sensitive materials comprising silver halide grains containing silver chloride that are sensitive to semiconductor laser light (i.e., spectrally sensitized to the infrared region). JP-A-63-49752, JP-A-63-83719 and JP-A-63-89838 disclose silver bromide and silver iodobromide systems.
In addition to the dyes disclosed in the above noted disclosures, other infrared sensitization dyes have been developed, as disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,095,854, 2,095,856, 2,955,939, 3,458,318, 3,482,978, 3,552,974, 3,573,921, 3,582,344, 3,615,632 and 4,011,083.
Methods for improvement of silver fouling and unevenness of development during development treatment are disclosed in JP-A-56-24347, JP-A-62-212615, JP-A-57-6848, JP-A-57-116340, JP-A-60-258537 and JP-A-62-212651.